A MILLION more people are to be offered free weight loss surgery to tackle ­Britain’s diabetes crisis.

Experts are recommending they get “stomach ­stapling” operations or gastric bands ­fitted on the NHS before they get morbidly obese and at risk of heart disease and strokes.

The guidance comes amid warnings that very low-calorie diets are not the best solution for many obese patients.

It means that instead of being told to exercise, eat less and lose weight, obese people with Type 2 diabetes will be allowed to have a surgical “quick fix”.

Professor Mark Baker, of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, said more than half of patients who undergo a weight loss operation have greater control of their diabetes and are less likely to have related illnesses.

In some cases, he said, “surgery can even reverse the diagnosis”.

Currently, gastric bands and “stomach stapling” are offered to patients with a body mass index score of over 40 or to those with a BMI over 35 and another serious health condition – such as Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.

But Nice is recommending that people with a BMI of 30 to 35 be given the option if they have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the past 10 years.

Around 2.9 million people in the UK are known to have diabetes, with approximately 90 per cent of cases being Type 2.

There are also thought to be around 850,000 people with undiagnosed diabetes.

Surgery can even reverse the diagnosis

Professor Mark Baker

Figures from the National Diabetes Audit suggest the new guidance could make at least 900,000 patients eligible for surgery.

The operations cost from £2,500 for a gastric band to £6,000 for stomach stapling. Patients would also be offered a “care package” for at least two years.

But it is thought that the NHS would save £4,000 per patient a year in the long-term.

Nice’s guidance also says doctors should be “selective” about recommending very-low calorie diets to obese people trying to lose weight.

Professor Baker, director of Nice’s Centre for Clinical Practice, said: “Obesity rates have nearly doubled over the last 10 years and continue to rise, making obesity and overweight a major issue for the NHS.

“Very-low-calorie diets have grown in popularity in recent years, so we now have more evidence to consider how well they work.

“The new draft guidance now recommends that they should not be used routinely for people who are obese, only those who have a clinical need to lose weight quickly, such as before joint replacement surgery.”

Simon O’Neill, director of health intelligence at charity Diabetes UK, said that surgery “carries serious risks” and “should only be considered if serious attempts to lose weight have been unsuccessful”.

However he said it “can lead to dramatic weight loss which may result in a reduction in people taking their Type 2 diabetes medication and even in some people needing no medication at all”.

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: “There are going to be millions and millions of people saying ‘That is for me’. But people may well find that the NHS is so broke that whatever Nice says, you won’t get it because there is no money.”

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “This guidance is at draft stage and people now have the opportunity to respond to the consultation.”